Finavera has signed a power purchase agreement with PG&E for a 2 MW installation to be cited 2.5 Miles of the coast of California.

From the Press Release:

Finavera Renewables has initiated development plans for the two megawatt wave energy project to be constructed approximately 2.5 miles off the coast of Humboldt County, California for electricity delivery to PG&E’s customers throughout its northern and central California service territory. The power purchase agreement calls for 3,854 MWh of clean, renewable electricity to be delivered annually to PG&E over the term of the contract. The project is expected to offset greenhouse gas emissions by displacing an estimated 245 tons of carbon dioxide (CO?) annually.

It’s not clear how long the term of the contract is (it’s stated to start in 2012).  California power prices range around the $0.12/kWh (during the energy crisis, my plant paid upwards of $0.17/kWh to get an idea of how high it can get during certain demand loads).  That would bring this deal to around $465k/yr of income for Finavera.  That’s not a whole lot of money, but it’s a great start for this project.   The exciting part comes when they get their first 100MW deal and earn upwards of $23 Million/year.  That’s clean power with no raw material inputs.  That sounds like a great business to be in.

This is a big deal for Finavera as it given them another opportunity to being the commercialization process of their technology.  They have other wave installations planned up the west coast, but this seems to be the first in California.  If it works well, then I would expect the larger agreements to be made (around the 100MW size).   California in particular is a power-hungry state and surely would be very interested in this technology if it works well in this demonstration installation.

More on Finavera: http://www.finavera.com